Apparently, in the new issue of Rolling Stone, Katy Perry talks in greater detail about her religious upbringing. Now, I knew that Katy is a preacher’s daughter and that she grew up in a very conservative household, but I never really paid attention to how any interviews Katy might have given where she’s talked about this before. So basically, this is all new to me. And now that I’ve read some of the quotes… well, it’s kind of amazing that Katy is relatively normal. Both of her parents were “freelance” ministers, apparently.
Speaking in tongues: “Speaking in tongues is as normal to me as ‘Pass the salt.’ It’s a secret, direct prayer language to God. A lot of religions use meditation or chanting. It’s a secret, direct prayer language to God. My dad speaks in tongues and my mom interprets it. That’s their gift.”
On struggling financially: “Sometimes we ate from the same food bank we used to feed our congregation and I was very embarrassed by that.”
Her parents were insane: “I wasn’t ever able to say I was ‘lucky’ because my mother would rather us say that we were blessed, and she also didn’t like that lucky sounded like Lucifer. Devilled eggs were called ‘angelled’ eggs. I wasn’t allowed to eat Lucky Charms, but I think that was the sugar. I think my mom lied to me about that one.”
[From CDAN and Monsters & Critics]
Now, I’m a big believer in freedom of religion – I think it’s great that everyone has the right to worship however and whoever they want, or to not worship at all. I’m not judging Katy’s parents’ faith. I’m just saying, it sounds like… I don’t know, like they were grifters who were incapable of working in the real world, so they used some strange reading of the Bible to make a buck, and they raised their daughter in a really f-cked up way. This makes me more sympathetic towards Katy, and that makes me uncomfortable, because I usually don’t give a crap about her.
In addition to those quotes, CDAN also claims that Katy says that casual sex “grosses her out” and that she only had a few boyfriends as a teenager. She’s mentioned her hatred of casual sex before, to which I can only shrug and mutter something about her fiancé being Shagger of the Year for three years. Oh, and speaking of Russell Brand, Katy bought him a $200,000 ticket on the Virgin Galactic space shuttle. A Virgin rep confirmed it: “It is true. We are very excited to have him onboard. There will be 17-inch diameter windows to look out onto. Passengers will be able to view Earth around 800 miles in any direction from space. They will pop champagne, give you astronaut wings and give you a party.”
One more thing: she wants a bacon bikini, and she wants it for her next album cover. That’s so… going to alienate her Jewish fans. But it’s still kind of interesting. Your move, Gaga.
I like the way Katy talked about her family’s beliefs. I don’t think she is particularly religious anymore, but she still respects some of the religious things they do. With that said, I don’t think that her parents were grifters or even bad parents. Obviously, if they were trying to rip people off, they weren’t doing it very well since they sometimes ate from the food bank. Like Belle, I believe you are being unnecessarily disrespectful.
My parents are also ministers and I can relate to a lot of what Katy went through. I didn’t get a wild streak like she did after, but I can definitely relate. I’m not sure what type of ministers her parents were, but I don’t think she necessarily was raised wrong. Her parents sound a bit weird. Perhaps over zealous. I’d have to know more about her upbringing before I could brand them, I guess.
So her religous up bringing makes her able to flaunt her big breasts and be a sex icon. Oh wait she isn’t trying to be like that at all, right? I mean Katy said that herself. I see a woman using her body for money and fame. Hah THATS TODAYS WORLD. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT.
@belle – it probably has more to do with the fact they were eating out of food banks – not the religion itself. Why are some people so hyper-sensitive about this stuff??
@belle “Since when does speaking in tongues mean one is raised poorly?”
It does because it is complete bullshit, but at least her parents had some ‘talent’ which is more than we can say for Katy herself.
Ahh…sounds like a cult to me.
I don’t know. Didn’t she also say that her parents used to hang around with Timothy Leary and company? And didn’t she buy her mother plastic surgery? I don’t fully agree with this article. But, I will play devil’s advocate and say that her past statements might lend towards the belief that her parents had a bit of a grifter streak in them.
However, I do not think that just because one grew up a little bit differently than everyone else that means that they grew up wrong. Both of my parents were freelancers growing up (mom’s a writer and dad’s a photographer) and I can’t tell you how many people made ignorant statements to me about my parents not having a “real job”. As a matter of fact, I myself grew up to be a freelancer and also have to deal with people who think I don’t have a “real job” on a regular basis.
Now, I’ve never heard of anyone doing freelance religious work. But, I’m also an atheist. So, who am I to say if that’s legit? I have no idea what that means. So, it’s just as likely to be a “real job” as it is to not be.
If anything, Katy’s colorful upbringing probably helped her acheive the success she has today. Freelancers have to always be on the look out for new opportunities. They have to be great at self promotion. So, maybe her parents should get credit for teaching her to live outside the normal lines of unemployment. Or for teaching her some really effective grifting techniques. Who knows?
ITA with Kaiser. If you have to feed your children continuously through a food bank– GET A JOB! We aren’t talking about people who can’t find a job we are talking about people who refused to earn enough money to feed their family because of their religious obsession. Get a job. Go to church on Sunday. God will still like you.
Speaking in tongues is either a) an act, or b) a sign that you’re probably not all there.
Seriously, to see these people do this is just weird and uncomfortable and a little terrifying. Like looking into the true face of crazy. Speaking in tongues, to me, is equal in insanity to the people who dance around with snakes or flagellate themselves. Weirdos.
Shit Kaiser you have peed-off the bible thumpers and tongue-speakers! Uh-oh! I didn’t find your post offensive at all, it was theologically very neutral, IMHO.
Hate to say it you guys, I’m no bible thumper by ANY means, but I know speaking in tongues isn’t that uncommon. My parents went to Cornerstone Church (Pastor John Hagee) here in San Antonio and that was something they did there and they’re a HUGE church in one of the wealthier areas of town. Additionally, you can’t really glean her parents were grifters. That has such a terrible, slanderous connotation. I dont even like this girl and I think the post is kind of rude.
i agree with lindylou, canucklehead, bella bella, aenflex, all persons with excellent reading comprehension skills. and good job kaiser, for not commenting or trying to explain your position to those who do not want to take the time to actually read what you have provided here for us.
that is all.
Thanks for defending me, all. I deleted Belle’s comment because she was likely trolling anyway. I imagine someone sitting around googling “speaking in tongues” waiting to unleash a hissy fit.
Bella Bella & DetRiotGirl – Yes, that’s what I was trying to say. There’s an aspect to her description of her parents – that they were “freelance” and that they needed the same kind of assistance that they were trying to provide – that tends towards the “huh? grifter much?” idea. I could totally be wrong, and I acknowledge that.
I simply don’t like her for the way she says “experimental” in “I Kissed a Girl.”
It’s ex-pear-iment, people. Not ex-pier-iment.
I too have seen people speaking in tongues when I was forced to go to church as a child, and it was scary and seemed really insane. ITA with Gatsby Gal.
@miss fu & @jane…agreed.
really sad imo that ANY family’s circumstances would ever dictate having to resort to a food bank.
In the Bible, when the early church members were speaking in tongues, they were speaking in known languages in order to communicate the Gospel. For instance, speaking the Ethiopian language to Ethiopians. I am highly skeptical of contemporary speaking in tongues because they are not speaking in actual languages, such as French, Finnish, etc. I am skeptical of it, but I could be wrong.
Ahhh hummmaannnna hummmmannna buuuhhhhssshuuuummmaaaammmmaaaaammmmmuuunnnaa thank you jesus thank you lord!
Now, if you’re a true believer the god will tell you what I just said! And if you’ve ever been in an “enthusiastic” church, you’ll recognize what I typed as being authentic. Praise him!
I think she’s doing well & should be admired for perservering & coming as far as she has & best of all she seems happy.
Her parents sound like a couple of con artists and I happen to believe in alot of crazy shit. Maybe i’m wrong, but I feel sorry for her if she has crazy parents who have fooled themselves and their children into believing they have special powers when they’re just attention seeking old people trying to mask their problems with a special relationship with God.
I’d love to hear them doing this to see if the languages they are speaking have any consistency or if it’s just “gobbledygookgobbeldygookyfudisoa;jk huahhhhh gobbeldyGOOOKAHfdshiok jejflahha fmlah JESUSsAHHgobbeldyGOOKAH”
@DetRiotGirl Making a living by working on your own time, not being anybodys bitch & not having a ‘real job’ is BLOODY AWESOME.
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic Jules.
Anyway, in myopinion…..her parents sound nuts. I’m suprised she came out as good as she did’m
All I know is, she’s got the most marvelous pair of breasts, ever. That second pic is great and I love those kinds of bras. Sheesh, why talk religion when you can talk breasts? What’s wrong with you people?! (in a humourous tone)
They were speaking in tongues about how untalented their daughter is & didnt want her to hear.
Where were her parents pastoring? The pastor at the church I went to through my youth made 2x what my parents made in a year combined and it was a pretty tiny church.
Ugh, speaking in tongues is the weirdest thing to witness. It’s a bunch of people engaging in a mass delusion and pretending so hard that it’s real they actually believe it.
And then they have the audacity to judge other people for their behavior, hah.
What I find to be weird is that her mother (a pastor?) got plastic surgery (was it a boob job?). I realize I’m a bit in the dark on the details but uhh… if my understanding of it’s correct, weird. I don’t go to church, so maybe this is the new, trendy thing for pastors/priests/ministers/etc. to be doing?
Cat eyes and jacked tits for everyone, praise Jesus!
I don’t mean to offend anyone, really and truly. Just trying to be even remotely funny.
i just love her more. totally agree with her
LMAO @Kim!
ITA with GatsbyGal and Shannon, seeing people speaking in tongues really freaks me out. The only people I’ve ever seen do it are members of one of those churches that’s actually a giant warehouse (or something), little kids and people who aren’t all there mentally.
Anyone who believes any of that “speaking in tongues is a direct secret prayer that certain people have a gift to interpret” stuff is a total sucker. What idiocy. But her breasts are amazing.
I think talkin in tongues is right up there with those radical televangelists “curing” those who are disabled. Its a bunch of bullsh*t.
Um. When did the fake breasts come in Miss Purity?
I call BS.
This sounds way too much like Britney Spears and Iglesias falsely claiming they were virgins while pushing sexualized material to teenagers of concerned parents.
My mom used to speak in tongues when I was a kid. She was raised a Pentecostal. It wasn’t as normal as “pass the salt.” It scared the hell out of me.
It’s some weird state of psychosis. A direct line to God’s secret language? Yeah, okay.
Did not see the “other Belle” comment, but I think we could probably all agree this is an unusual childhood and it does not sound particularly happy.
I don’t get the connection between her religious background, and now wearing whipped-cream shooting bras etc. I feel she is just this side of a porn star, maybe because she doesn’t have enough actual talent to make it without all the antics.
Her mother sounds terrified. So many restrictions. I know a family whose religion is also based on fear – for example, unicorns are considered evil because they are neither male nor female. Evil unicorns? How sad is that?
@ Amy – I could not say it better. Cosigned!
In the Bible, when the early church members were speaking in tongues, they were speaking in known languages in order to communicate the Gospel. For instance, speaking the Ethiopian language to Ethiopians. I am highly skeptical of contemporary speaking in tongues because they are not speaking in actual languages, such as French, Finnish, etc. I am skeptical of it, but I could be wrong.
___________________________________
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what makes me crazy about these nuts. According to the bible, the apostles came out of the upper room, speaking in their OWN language (Aramaic or Hebrew, not sure which), but the crowd each heard the message in his native language. For example, if they were really speaking in tongues, the speaker would be speaking ENGLISH, but French, German, Japanese, etc people in the crowd would each hear the message in their language.
That gibberish is nothing more than an act.
what part of her religion told her to wear that fugly blue dress?
I can understand where she is coming from as I experienced a similar childhood. It does mess a person up because you’re not sure which world to fit it too. You become a walking contradiction. Although, I’m not an atheist, I still have the old tapes in my head that were past on to me as a child. The hell and damnation crap is all about control and power. Religion is nothing more than brainwashing others in the name of Jesus.
I live in the Bible Belt and believe me, tongue speaking churches are on every corner. A WHOLE LOT of people around here speak in tongues and go to HUGE churches. And these aren’t backwoods, ignorant people either. These churches are full of well educated upper middle to very wealthy classes.
So if this is some kind of fit then a bunch of people around here have them every Sunday. These people believe they are following a common biblical practice and just because you don’t believe in it doesn’t make it right for you to denigrate them.
Isn’t our country founded on religious tolerance?
This what happens when you choke children and bring them so strict and reason out God in everything the wrong way. I’m a Christian & am sure if my folks had to choke me up and demanded me & was like a military commander at home i surely would have gone astray & hated my upbringing about religion. That’s what has happened to her.Parents have to respect their kids and and show love & care and not other wise! God does not want that either! we should draw to Him with love and honor Him for who is and not just coz what people around say!
Please, she only speaks in tongues as another excuse to wiggle her tits around.
I don’t know what kind of Protestant fundie she is, but I’m Catholic & I’m pretty sure if I started speaking in tongues, I would have gotten an exorcism. LOL. Other than that, I like that her parents taught her to say she was blessed instead of lucky. I came to that conclusion on my own, but that’s the way I feel, too.
I wonder if her parents were snake-handlers, too. THAT’S awesome, especially when the snake actually bites. I heart fundies.
Growing up in the South, I attended a few churches where snake handling and speaking in tongues occurred. I didn’t get it, but by the same token, I have traveled all over Asia, and can’t see the difference. They chant, they swoon, but everyone oooohs and aaahs over the “spiritual mysticism” like it was something elevated above what Bible believers in the US do. Can’t have it both ways, people.
I’ve got to ask, where exactly have some of you read in the Bible that plastic surgery and bikinis are verboten? I must have missed that.
1Tim 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
I personally don’t care what she wears or how she got her boobs, but yeah, the Bible does address modesty of attire.
The Bible also says its forbidden to wear clothing of mixed fibers, so…..we could do this all day really.
Wow… so much for religious tolerance. I’m sure ya’ll will be the first ones into heaven.
speeking in tongues is evidence of reciving the holy spirit i never was religous. I just soughta yeh gods real if your a good person ull go to heaven. But no why shud u go to heaven if u dont follow the bible orr put the lord first?. To get saved go get baptised then pray to god on ur own or wid sumone saying “hallaujah” over n over n pray saying u want the holyspirit dont stop till u get it or give up ull be amazed by what u get.
I thought this was a load of crap cause cause my best frend n her family recently got it . So i did it n its true watch ur life change aroundd n ull live for eternity 🙂
I’m a Christian and I don’t think she is crazy speaking in tounges. I speak in tounges and so does most of my family and none of us are poor we are all upper class or middle class. But it’s not as normal as pass the salt but it doesn’t make you crazy. God bless
I savour, lead to I found just what I was having a look for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
It’s actually a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.